It was quite strange and unsettling to Harry, to be treated differently by those whom he had been staying with this past week and a half. Ed, formerly acting rather uncertainly around him, now eagerly taught him things he had not revealed before, secrets that he admitted should have stayed that way as it was a cash of personal tricks every photographer worth his title must have. Jerry, on the other hand, seemed to put up a distance between them while there had been none before. (It hurt, but Harry would never admit it out-loud.) And as if keeping a balance between the two factions, Ardila got closer while Ana was distant – an outcome he had never predicted even in his wildest imagination. But he could not flee; not until tomorrow. And there was still Severus to consider later.
It was quite a relief to him thus when Hedwig returned, apparently from a long hunting expedition. Ardila proposed an outing to spend the rest of the day too after George and Harriet were gone. Ed unfortunately pleaded out of it, saying that he had procrastinated on his work for too long already, while Jerry and Ana affirmed their involvement. But perhaps, constrains would be loosened slightly when they were out of the Forest-home? At any rate, Harry had something to look forward to, namely Ardila's promise to help him deal with his relatives later in the day.
Hitching a ride on Ed's car for part of the way, they went to the amusement park first. Harry relished queuing and having fun just like other people all around them. In this way he felt normal for once, not a freak and certainly not a celebrity. It also helped that his prediction seemed to come true: that the tension between both parties dissolved – much, if not all – as they chuckled and whooped (Ana) and laughed freely (Harry himself) during the various rides. Jerry bought ice cream for the small company when morning grew late, and they ate it together in a shaded corner while looking around contentedly at the rides around their resting nook. It was Harry's first time ever going on a real holiday trip, and he could not deny enjoying it very much. Here he was not considered invisible like the Dursleys often treated him in the past, however distant Jerry and Ana had been acting towards him today, and he did not stand out either. The concept of family still terrified him though, somehow. He did not want to chalk this show of equality as a familial trait – not yet, at least. Right now he just wanted to enjoy himself.
Still, good things never lasted long. Ardila spoke about moving to their next destination after lunch in one of the restaurants in the amusement park, and nobody objected to that. Personally, Harry would love to delay confronting his relatives as long as possible; but seeing that the twins looked eager – in their own ways, of course – he grew curious.